Bromsgrove railway works
Bromsgrove railway works was established in 1841 at Aston Fields, near Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, England as a maintenance facility for the Birmingham and Gloucester Railway. However, it was one of the first to actually build locomotives rather than simply maintaining those provided by other manufacturers.
This came about when the railway hired James McConnell following a series of accidents on the Lickey Incline. The first involved a demonstration locomotive by William Church, called, unfortunately "Surprise". Its experimental boiler blew up, killing the enginemen, Thomas Scaife and Joseph Rutherford. Then a further boiler explosion killed William Creuze.
McConnell carried out a number of innovations, culminating in a locomotive specifically built for the incline, the "Great Britain" reputed to be the first saddle tank.
He continued to seek higher standards in railway engineering. In 1846 he met with George Stephenson and Archibald Slate at Bromsgrove. It was at this meeting that the idea of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers came about.
The works built very few locomotives since, after the merger with Midland Railway, such work was concentrated at Derby. However it became a well-respected wagon works, using components from Derby, apart from laminated springs which it fabricated itself.
It became part of the LMS and, during World War II the Works Manager initiated a scheme for recovering timber and metal fittings for re-use as spares. After nationalisation in 1949 it remained busy with one of the highest productivity rates, but following a reorganisation of railway workshops, it closed in 1964, with the work being transferred to Derby.
Source
- This is Worcestershire, Reaching for new standards, Wednesday 18 February 2004
